In the gaming art, the term “Live Dealer” refers to games in which a player participates in a live table game from a location remote from an area of live play such as, for example, from a casino or a film studio. A live table game is one that is conducted by a real person such as a dealer with respect to card games, or a croupier with respect to other table games.
Live Dealer games may be available for a variety of different live casino table games such as, for example, roulette, baccarat and blackjack. A Live Dealer game may include both remote players and local players present at the area of live play or may, alternatively, only involve remote players
A remote player participating in a Live Dealer game may receive a video stream of a live dealer, such as a roulette croupier or a blackjack dealer, conducting a live table game at the area of live play. The video stream enables the remote player to observe the game play and to receive the results of such game play, such as the outcomes of spins of a roulette wheel or the cards dealt in a card game. The remote payer may also be presented with a user interface that enables the player to participate in the game by placing wagers on outcomes of the game and by exercising any game play decisions that may be required.
The provision of Live Dealer games is expensive. For example, a studio from which live games are conducted requires the provision of physical gaming tables, real dealers and/or croupiers and supervisory staff (e.g. pit bosses) to oversee the dealers and the croupiers in order to ensure fair play and to minimise any possibility of collusion. Furthermore, the provision of a video stream of live play from the studio requires lighting and camera equipment as well as adequate transmission bandwidth.
The present disclosure relates to a method of implementing an equivalent of such a Live Dealer game that does not rely on a live video feed of a real dealer/croupier, but nevertheless still provides a remote player with an illusion of live interaction with a real dealer.